


Initiation - 29 A.B.

by FanFicReader01



Series: The Unknown Below [5]
Category: Poets of the Fall
Genre: Blood, Post-Apocalypse, Priests, Sacrifice
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-09
Updated: 2019-08-09
Packaged: 2020-08-13 14:37:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,374
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20175898
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FanFicReader01/pseuds/FanFicReader01
Summary: Somewhere, in the darker corners of the broken world, strange rituals are performed.





	Initiation - 29 A.B.

**Author's Note:**

> Story 5

I can barely wait. Tonight is _my_ night. I’ve already waken up early. As quick as possible I change into my normal clothes. In the bathing area I wash my face, hands and feet before I step into the holy temple. I make a quick prayer before I join the older priests for breakfast.

“You are early, brother Snellman,” one remarks.

I smirk. “Today is the day.”

“We know. But that is still a few hours from now. Why not join your brothers and sisters back in the bed?”

“I want to be as productive as I can,” I insist while chewing down on the hard bread. Our meals at the Temple of Nirvana are sober and simple. In the morning we have a slice of bread and some water. During lunch we eat a small bowl of rice and in the evening we consume a special thick brew that holds a droplet of Soothsayer’s blood. That way, we’ll already be connected to them before any proper interaction takes place. Maybe it’s just in my head, but I think I can already feel the blood affect me. I start to feel stronger, wiser.

I join the older priests on their morning prayers until my own branch wakes up. After their breakfast, I regroup with them and sing in the chantry. I no longer have to look at my texts, I already know every single word of our chants. When we’re done, one of my sisters remarks it.

“You’re getting pretty good at this, brother Snellman.”

“I know right. That’s why today I’ll have my Initiation Ritual!” I happily smile. The excitement rushes through my whole body, making the following meditation quite difficult. But I have to focus. It is what Nirvana wants us to do. It’s calling to us through these chants, through this meditation. And once we’ve fulfilled our duty on this hellish earth as Earthly Providers for the all-knowing Soothsayers, we are allowed into Nirvana ourselves. And hopefully then to be reborn as Soothsayers. _T__hat_ is our ultimate mission, that is our only point of existence.

Today I have to skip lunch and even dinner. The emptier, like Nirvana itself, the better. My blood can’t be tainted more for tonight’s Initiation Ritual. It’s difficult operating on an empty stomach, but the more it makes me understand the Soothsayer’s way of life, the more I can provide them through my earthly vessel of a body.

When the evening comes, I notice the tension from my fellow peers. Despite not having dinner, I join them at the tables. They’re chattering and I feel a bit alone.

“You sure this is what you want?” suddenly one of my brothers speaks up.

I give him a glare. Why would I not? “This is our way of life, brother. This is what we were born to do. And I’m grateful for Nirvana, that the priests have chosen me for tonight. Soon I’ll be a _real_ Provider. Not a mere Servant anymore.”

“Oh.” My brother looks down and quietly drinks his brew.

“Are _you_ hesitating?” I suspiciously ask.

“What? No. I-, I’m just amazed at your willpower. You have no fear, do you, Jani?”

I bare my teeth in a grin. “No. Soothsayers may look different than us, but that’s what sets them apart. That’s what makes them holy, all-knowing. Unlike us mere mortals. I have nothing to fear in such presence and you should feel the same.” With that being said, the conversation ends and I’m left alone to my thoughts. Sometimes I eavesdrop on my fellow people.

Most of them are nervous. Others are excited as I am. And I feel proud. Maybe even a bit better than the other Servants.

Unlike other days, this night everybody joins me in the largest chapel of the Temple. Everybody stands around me in a circle. The older priests form the smallest circle. Around them, are the Servants. Everybody murmurs prayers and chants in unison. It’s a bit haunting due to the echoing effect of this place. Afterward, everybody wishes me luck by putting a hand on my shoulder. Then my brothers and sisters leave and go to bed while I’m led to the altar outside the Temple.

“Are you, brother Snellman, ready to become a Provider to our divine Soothsayers?”

“Yes. I am willing to offer my body and soul. For this will grant me an earned place in Nirvana itself.”

“Correct. And may you’ll be reborn as a Soothsayer. Guiding us further into wisdom.”

I lay on the altar in nothing but my underwear. My eyes look up to the endless night sky. Millions of stars fill it. It reminds me of Nirvana but up there, instead of below us. The main priest walks over to me and sprinkles special water over my body. Afterward, he rubs a special, protecting balm onto me. He rubs it equally over my legs, arms and chest. It’s time for the last step before I’m let into the mouth of Nirvana. The main priest takes out the sacrificial knife and bores a horizontal line into my skin, right below my collarbone.

“May you become a healthy Provider to our divine Soothsayers.”

I hiss at the sharp cut and shiver as I feel fresh blood seep out of the wound. I close my eyes, recite my personal prayer before standing up again. I feel a bit dizzy but it’s said to be part of the ritual. The priest guides me down the stone stairs that lead to the gaping mouth of Nirvana.

“Go, my son, into its unfathomable depths. Until you can no longer see with your earthly eyes. Let the Soothsayers come to you and you shall become.”

With a fast beating heart, I descend down the stairs. Looking down, I see droplets of my blood splatter onto the stairs. This will definitely draw at least _one_ Soothsayer, or so I hope. I didn’t go through all this, only for none to show up. Relieved, I sigh when there’s nothing but darkness around me. I know some humans are afraid of the dark and that what they cannot see, but the teachings of Nirvana have taught me not to fear. But instead embrace and let yourself succumb to that mysterious but ever so wise darkness. For one can simply not see with only their earthly eyes.

My thoughts get interrupted by a screech. In reflex, my body drops against the wall to not accidentally fall. I am not ready yet to enter Nirvana as recklessly as that.

Glowing eyes greet me. I clench my fists and ready myself.

Once the Soothsayer is closer, sharp teeth are revealed as well. Despite all the teachings, I still have a reflex to defence myself. I growl and even cry out when I feel the deity grab my arms. A wet tongue laps at the blood coming from my chest.

“Y-yeah. Drink it, drink it all up!” I frantically exclaim in some sort of ecstasy. Once the wound no longer oozes my blood, I feel teeth sink into my lower arm. I curse before I can stop myself.

“W-wait, hold on. If-, if you keep consuming it I can’t-” my body has its own wishes. It manages to kick the Soothsayer in its gut and I watch as it falls back into Nirvana. When I no longer see it anymore, I hurry upstairs.

When I submerge, the priests are waiting for me. With a neutral gaze, they observe my body. They look at the dried up wound and notice some saliva from the Soothsayer on the cut up flesh. They also notice the bite wound on my arm.

“I-, I’ve seen one. A Soothsayer,” I gasp out. My legs are trembling and one priest has to support me from collapsing.

“I-, I’m sorry. I think I failed,” I snivel as I point out my arm. “I kicked it a-and-,”

“It’s alright. Many of us have sadly succumb to our urge of survival. And thus, pushed some Soothsayers back to their origin. But that doesn’t make you less of a worthy candidate now. That what had to be consumed, your wound’s blood, has been. You have passed your Initiation. Welcome to our midst, Provider Snellman.”


End file.
